Zaporozhye, Zaporozhye Province, Ukraine, September 26, 2025
Photo: Telegram
The wonderworking icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos known as the Glinsk Hermitage Icon has arrived in the Zaporozhye Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, bringing spiritual comfort to the faithful during difficult times.
His Eminence Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye, who previously served as abbot of the Glinsk Monastery, announced the icon’s arrival at the Holy Protection Cathedral on his Telegram channel. He noted that the icon’s journey itself was miraculous, as it had to be transported by horse from an area no longer accessible by automobile.
The Glinsk Icon dates to the first half of the 16th century, when it appeared in the Glinsk forest lands of what was then the Krupetsk District of Putivl County. A monk from the Molchensky Monastery settled at the site of the icon’s appearance, establishing what would become the Glinsk Hermitage.
The original wonderworking icon, renowned for numerous miracles, remained in the monastery until its closure in 1922. According to records from September 15, 1922, members of the church council from the village of Shalygino took possession of the icon, and its current whereabouts remain unknown. A venerated copy of the original icon is now kept in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Glinsky Hermitage.
The icon is commemorated on September 8 and on the ninth Friday after Pascha.
In his message to the faithful, Met. Luke emphasizes that the Mother of God has come to strengthen them in faith and remind them of her constant presence. Drawing from his experience as the former abbot of the Glinsk Hermitage, he shares how the Theotokos has repeatedly answered prayers in miraculous ways.
His Eminence calls on the faithful to examine themselves for judgment, murmuring, anger, or coldness toward their neighbors, stressing that any icon of the Mother of God offers hope that there is still time for humility and repentance. He urges believers to preserve Church unity, pray for one another, and practice forgiveness and love.
Read the Metropolitan’s full message:
Christ is in our midst, my dear readers!
The Mother of God has come to support us in our trials
Today the wonderworking Glinsk Hermitage Icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos has arrived within the Zaporozhye Diocese. The very fact that it’s in the Holy Protection Cathedral is a miracle, as it arrived from a place that can no longer be reached even by automobile. The icon had to be transported by horse, as in olden times.
The Mother of God has come to support us, strengthen us in faith, and remind us again and again: “I am always with you.” As abbot of the Glinsk Monastery, I had occasion to be convinced time and again that the Mother of God hears all our prayers. Help came to us in completely miraculous ways on numerous occasions—precisely in the form and quantity that we needed at that moment.
The Theotokos hears our prayers; She answers them. But this is no reason to think that the Most Pure One will satisfy all our requests. What would happen then? Each of you would compile a list from A to Z, receive everything requested wholesale once and for all, and then surely forget the road to church. It wasn’t for material prosperity or physical health that the Virgin Mary became so close to us by Divine Providence, but for the salvation of our immortal souls.
The very history of the Glinsk Monastery bears witness to this. In what infirmities, labors, and deprivations did the elders of this monastery struggle! And with what glory and honor they now shine in the Heavenly vault of the Church Triumphant! This icon appeared not in lofty chambers and halls, not in palaces and rich mansions, but in a dense forest, far from the noise and bustle of the world. She revealed this miracle for the sake of her humble and simple children. The Theotokos seems to remind us all: there is not and cannot be any grace among those who sow hatred and enmity.
How important it is for us living in such difficult times to understand this. Brother rises against brother; even among the Orthodox, hatred, divisions, and reproaches are growing. The Theotokos tells us: A person who has lost love has also lost God.
How much pride and vainglory there is in us, even among those who bear the priestly cross on their breast. Make just one small remark, and what do you hear in response? Hundreds of words, starting with justifications and then accusations. Is this what the Lord teaches us? Was it not He who showed us the example of how to live and be humble? If even a pastor doesn’t understand this, what can he teach his parishioners? Let us be attentive to ourselves. Let us examine whether there is condemnation, murmuring, malice, or coldness toward our neighbor in our souls. Any icon of the Mother of God gives us hope that all is not yet lost. That although we have little time remaining, it’s still sufficient to humble ourselves and repent of our sins. Fear not, little flock (Lk. 12:32), says the Lord, and His Most Pure Mother addresses these same words to us today. And if we truly venerate her, we will preserve the unity of the Church, we will pray for one another, we will forgive and love, so that it may be said of us: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).
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